


Changing of the Seasons

by Blue_Sparkle



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Engagement, F/M, Minor Character Death, betrothed as children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-25
Updated: 2013-09-25
Packaged: 2017-12-27 15:27:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/980564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Sparkle/pseuds/Blue_Sparkle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Dwalin and Dís were children they were betrothed. When Smaug came their lives turned out different and the engagement was forgotten about, but that didn't stop Dwalin from falling in love with his Princess after all</p>
            </blockquote>





	Changing of the Seasons

When they were engaged, Dwalin was so young that he hadn’t even started to grow out stubble on his cheeks, and Dís was barely old enough to remember what to do during the ceremony and not to fuzz without her brothers or her mother holding her hand.

It was a quiet ceremony; only their family and some members of the council were there to witness it. The King was talking about how exactly the union would happen once both children were of age, Dís’ father was smiling down at his daughter, and next to him Dwalin’s own dad and Balin gave him a reassuring nod.

The engagement might not be permanent after all, who knew what might happen in the next decades to change everyone’s mind, but at least now the princess had someone who would take care of her should she need it in the future, closer than a guard, one who would be her companion and friend too, someone good and reliable, like the younger son of Fundin. It was tradition to betroth the younger children of noble families like that, it did carry political weight, Balin had explained to him, but not too much to make things complicated. 

Dwalin couldn’t really imagine marrying little Dís, who was the sister of his best friend after all. He had known her as a tiny rosy baby, and had seen her put blankets in her mouth on the days he’d visit Thorin in the royal family’s chambers.

He wasn’t sure if he’s ever want to marry anyone at all, the prospect of that didn’t seem very exiting. It was expected of him though, and his own ma and dad seemed to be happy enough being married, so Dwalin was sure he’d manage.

Finally, the King was done with his speech and it was time to exchange the beads and give each other a braid and finish the ceremony. Dís was so young that she didn’t even wear braids yet, only jewellery but no bead with meanings, so Dwalin carefully put a silver clasp into the lose hair above her temple.

Dís handed him a shiny bead of her own, a pretty golden thing, with very thin lines of mithril inlaid. Her little fingers were too clumsy to braid his hair, so Dwalin put it into his tunic’s pocket instead. He didn’t like braiding his own hair either, but he would always carry the bead in his pocket instead.

With that the ceremony was over and the adults started walking out, so finally there would be food! Dwalin had barely eaten that morning, he had been sleepy and his ma had been fussing over his clothes so he had not felt like eating much of the breakfast.

He was sure that little Lady Dís would run to her grandpa now, or to anyone else to be picked up like she still liked to do. Instead she looked up at him expectantly.

"Wha’ do you want?" Dwalin asked as she made no move and didn’t explain herself. "Lets go, or there’ll be no plum tarts left, Frerin promised to eat them all if there are any!"

"You have to carry me there, of course! Or we really will be late" Dís said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What, why? You want me to carry you?" She never had asked him that before, only ever the adults and sometimes Thorin.

"You’re my befth.. Betr… We’re gonna marry one day, and a husband can carry his wife if she lets him. So you can carry me now." She sounded very pleased about finding that solution to the matter.

Dwalin really didn’t want to argue with that logic, and the food was beckoning, so he picked the girl up in his arms and followed the others.

She was very light, but carrying someone in his arms like that wasn’t very comfortable. If he had his way, Dwalin would have slung her over his shoulder, or maybe dragged her by the boots like Balin used to do to him when he was smaller. But Dís was a princess and one did not pull princesses over the floor. And she seemed to like being carried too.

Once they got to sit down at the table Dís kept pushing pieces of her plate towards Dwalin in thanks. She even shared some of her pie with him, smiling wistfully but saying that he deserved that much.

Perhaps Dwalin would never see the appeal of getting married, but while watching Princess Dís smile and chatter about this and that, he thought that he’d gladly try it if she wished to.

 

 *****

 

All came much different than expected after all. The dragon came and the Dwarves ran from the mountain. Dwalin, barely done with training to become a soldier, was burdened with the task of protecting the Prince.

He didn’t see it as such, and Thorin was more than capable of taking care of himself. Frerin sometimes kept closer to Dwalin that he had before, when they weren’t wandering about through the wildness.

Dís was also his to protect, the betrothal obliging him to be her guard and companion if nothing else. He would have done so even without the promise, or without his best friend asking to help look after her, he had grown very fond of the girl after all.

He didn’t get to, Dís always stayed as close to her father as she could, clinging to her last remaining parent. 

Even when they finally reached the mountains of Ered Luin and the Dwarves of Erebor finally started building a new life that didn’t change.

Together with Thorin many young Dwarves went out to find work somewhere, as wandering smiths, sellswords and tinkers, and Dwalin followed.

He did not see Dís often in the following years, but he could still watch how she was growing to be a beautiful young lass, always with a smile for him, just as full of affection as the one she gave her brothers, or her father and King.

Each time they set out to another journey she would walk with them to the new city’s gates, handing cram and some sweetmeats wrapped in cloth for each of them, as she would ask her family to be save.

Sometimes Dwalin would wonder how he could miss the girl more than he did his own parents and brother, who he saw much less frequently than the princess. He would wonder if the affection he felt for her was just as simple as it had been so many years ago.

Somehow it felt like no time at all had passed, and suddenly Dwalin found himself with the guard more often than on journeys, and Dís was no longer a girl but a grown Dwarrowdam, with a warm smile and an easy laugh.

He knew he was in love the first time he got to sit in Thorin’s kitchen and watch her tease her brothers in good nature. It was nothing grand or especially romantic, not worth of songs and the youngest grandchild of Thror, but Dwalin felt that he didn’t care for that at all.

Their engagement had not been brought up apart from mentioning that Dwalin must protect Dís in decades, and he had barely even shown a sign of wishing to properly court her, so it was no wonder when one day Dís announced that she would marry.

It was a miner’s son, a handsome young lad with bright golden hair and dimples when he laughed. And he laughed a lot, bringing a proper smile on Dís’ face far more often than anyone had ever done since the dragon came. He was a decent lad and very clever and loving to the princess, so much so that Dwalin felt guilt for his jealousy each time he saw him with Dís.

How could he feel contempt for someone who made his beloved so happy after all? 

At the wedding Dwalin drank and congratulated the happy couple, but still he worried if he truly wished all the good things in the world for them, as he claimed when it was his turn to congratulate them. Perhaps he secretly hoped that one day it would be him by Dís’ side? He could not know, each time he tried to think about his motivations he was not able to make sense of them at all.

One and a half years later Fíli was born, a healthy little boy who’d one day rule after his uncle. He had his mother’s nose and eyes, and his father’s golden hair and dimpled smile. When it was Dwalin’s turn to hold the little child, all doubts left him.

 _Of course_ he was happy for Dís and her husband, they _were_ a wonderful match and their son was prof of this. Even if Dwalin did still love Dís, and probably would always do so, he could push his own feelings aside, and simply be happy for her.

 

****

 

Again misfortune stuck the Line of Durin. Orcs were getting more daring, little groups coming closer to settlements, nothing a few Dwarven Warriors couldn’t deal with. Not all Dwarves were armed and trained warriors though.

Dís cried all night after they brought her husband’s remains home, cradling her second infant son in her arms and letting herself be less than strong for once.

It was distressing, to see her that way, she had always been calm through all hardships and losses. Her brothers and father tried to comfort her, but in the end Dís asked to be left alone. Thorin took Fíli and the babe Kíli, then, to give her room to mourn the boys’ father.

Dwalin had always tried to be there for her, no matter what troubled her, but that night it just didn’t feel right to intrude on her grief. Before he could leave the house though, Dís had grabbed his sleeve.

"Please stay", she said, her eyes bloodshot and the skin of her face red and swollen from her tears. She still looked very proud and regal and beautiful that way.

It was no real request anyway, so Dwalin sat by her side while she wept like she’d never let herself in front of her children or her brother, until she finally fell asleep.

King Thror decided that the Orcs had raided enough soon after, he declared that every able bodied Dwarf should go to fight them, and reclaim the ancient kingdom of Khazad-Dum.

Of course Dwalin followed.

He remembered how his mother had hugged him and kissed him goodbye, later on, how she had whispered to Balin and held her husband for a long time. Dís had stood at the very front of the gathered mothers and children, everyone who would not go to war. She hadn’t said a thing, just watched Dwalin and her family with an unmoving face and wide eyes that meant that she was afraid.

It pained him, to remember the image of his beautiful princess, standing before her people, with her babe in her arms, all alone, he worried about her every night on the march towards the Misty Mountains.

It didn’t matter much once the actual war started.

 

****

 

When Dwalin returned, too much had changed and too much had been lost. His own father was dead, Balin was so full of grief that there were days he would hardly talk, Thror was dead, Thrain was lost, little Frerin had fallen and Thorin was their King now. There were scars covering Dwalin’s body, and he had more tattoos than ever before, done on the battlefield and in the tents on the road.

He didn’t really get a chance to talk to Dís for days after he had returned home, there was simply so much to be done, the survivors needed to be looked after, the families of the fallen had to be informed, and Thorin had to start acting as the new King. With all this, seeing his beloved was a luxury he had to go without.

Dís came to him, eventually. She found him sitting by the fireplace, staring at the cold ashes and only noticing her presence when she sat down on the couch next to him.

"You haven’t been avoiding me, have you?" her voice was still as melodic as it had been in Dwalin’s memory, but there was something rough in it now, as if she was used to talking in a room filled with smoke.

"I was busy", he said, and it wasn’t a lie after all. "Forgive me, my Lady", he added and looked away.

Cloth rustled and then Dwalin felt her weight by his side, and her fingers on his cheek as she traced the scars and yet unhealed wounds on his face.

"I was worrying so much, all the time. Even when we were still getting letters about how many victories you had. And grandfather was always writing how everything will be good and how we will have a home just as splendid as the last."

Dwalin closed his eyes at the words.

"I could not protect them, forgive me, I should have given my life trying to. And neither did we manage to reclaim our ancient kingdom. You should have gotten better news about that. I am sorry."

She did not reply for a while and for a moment Dwalin thought he had said something to offend her.

"You think I care about that kingdom? I was worried about you too, Dwalin, I was hoping that you all would return to me, but I would never have wished that you were dead instead of grandfather or- or anyone! I wished for you to live no less than anyone else!"

It sounded as if there were tears in Dís’ eyes, but there hadn’t been any for decades, apart from the night her husband died. Dwalin did not think he should see her spill any for him so he kept his eyes shut.

After a little while Dís sighed and leaned closer to kiss his forehead.

"Rest now, Dwalin. And please do not think so little of my affection for you" she said, and then he could hear how she stood up and left the room. 

He stayed there all night, his eyes closed and face turned towards the cold fireplace

 

****

 

Nothing really changed between them, Dwalin still treated Dís with the respect a princess deserved, acting much more formal towards her than towards Thorin, but he made sure that she’d never have reason to think that he was avoiding her again.

Dís too, did never show any signs of him being more important to her than just an old friend, distant cousin and guard, but she still always had a warm smile for him, and every time she came to look after Thorin or her sons, who Dwalin got to train in fighting, she stayed longer to talk to him.

It was nice, Dwalin wondered whether he should ask her to marry him more than he had before, without ever actually deciding that he would do it.

When the day came that Thorin started gathering a company of Dwarves to try and reclaim Erebor, Dís walked with them to the gates, like she had so many years before. Everyone would go to different destinations first, but Thorin, his nephews and Dwalin decided to depart at the same time.

Dís talked to her brother quietly, giving him a bundle for his pack, some extra food and spare clothes. They embraced before Thorin went out onto the road, and then she held her sons for a long time, asking them to be safe, wishing them luck for their quest. As Fíli and Kíli were on their way, Dwalin turned to follow them, but Dís caught his wrist.

"Please" she said as he looked at her. Her eyes were wide again, the only thing that wasn’t carefully controlled on her face.

"I will look after the boys and Thorin" Dwalin promised. She had asked the same of Thorin and their cousins who had already signed the contract to join the quest.

"No, look after yourself!" Her lips trembled slightly and her entire face showed the fear truly. "I want you to return to me, Dwalin, promise that you will return, if you love me at all, promise that you will not put yourself in danger more than you need!"

"I can’t-"

Her hand slid down Dwalin’s wrist until her fingers curled around his. There was something cold pressing into his hand, and as he looked down he saw how Dís’s fingers closed his hand around a tiny golden bead.

"What is this?"

"A Promise. Keep it with you, and when Erebor is ours again, or on the day you return to me I will braid it into your hair properly."

Dwalin looked at the tiny thing more closely. The golden bead was the same size as the one he had before the dragon came, but it looked impossibly small between his fingers now. Instead of mithril there were silver lines on it’s surface, and the design was different too.

Dís’ hand gently cupped his cheek and turned his head so that he was looking at her.

"I made this one myself, like a proper proposal gift should be. I always loved you, I think. I do not want to lose someone I love again. I want to lose someone I’m in love with even less."

Dwalin’s arms wrapped around her waist as he pulled her into an embrace. “I… I promise I will return to you, my Princess.”

Dís smiled up at him sadly, and pulled his face down to her level so that she could press a soft kiss to his lips.

"We will see each other again, I know it" she whispered before stepping back to let him go. Dwalin bowed his head and walked down the road to follow his King. When he had walked half the path that lead out into the valley he turned, to see Dís standing by the gates and watching, not moving or waving to him, and he was sure that there could not be a Dwarrowdam more noble and beautiful that she was in that moment.

 

***** 

 

The quest was more bothersome than dangerous at first, but somehow the company survived, orcs, goblins, trolls, stone giants and gigantic spiders with hardly any damage. It was strange how Dwalin didn’t feel like his life had been in real danger, there was no fear, different that the War, where every moment of rest was spend trying to keep the panic and despair at bay.

At night and during the time it was his turn on watch he would often stay awake, tracing the patterns on the bead in his pocket. It gave him comfort while lying in the mud and the rain, or when he had to sleep as a prisoner of Elves. He would remember Dís’s face then, and how sweet her lips had felt against his before falling asleep to dream of Erebor and her.

He did not dare getting it out of his pocket, mostly, in fear of loosing it should a sudden danger appear. In the Elfking’s cell he still had it, a tiny thing that went unnoticed by their jailors. So Dwalin would hold it in his fist then, until the cool metal was warm against his palm.

The bead was with him even after the barrel ride and escape through the wild river, and when the Dragon nearly burned them all by the hidden door.

The bead was still there when the Battle of Erebor nearly got him killed for good, and it was still in his hand when he watched them take away the broken corpses that had been his King and Princes once. He nearly cast it away then, undeserving of carrying it, now that he had failed its maker’s family so completely. Dís deserved to have such fine work returned to her, though, so he kept it in as he lay in the healing tents.

 

 ****

 

The day the first caravan from Ered Luin arrived Dwalin still had his arm in a sling and could not walk long distances unsupported. The company, or what was left of it, gathered to greet the Lady Dís, and it hurt to see his love after all that happened, but more than anything Dwalin was glad to have lived long enough to see her once more.

She was calm when she talked to everyone, but there was a sorrow on her face that she could not hide. She looked like the marble statues of the ancient Kings of Men, pale and features unmoving. Dwalin was sure than if she let her control slip she would weep. Or perhaps she had already done that, after the Ravens reached her with the news, and had no tears left.

When Dís’ eyes found Dwalin’s, he thought that she would come to him, but she turned away then, to find the generals of the Iron Hills, and do her duties as the Princess. She would not let herself have a moment in private until she was done with what was expected of her, so Dwalin left as soon as nobody paid any attention to him anymore. He would seek her out later.

That evening it was Dís who found him, in the halls of the former palace, where the company had been living while nobody was sure how much restoration the city would need.

She pulled him into her rooms wordlessly, and sat Dwalin down before the warm fireplace, careful to make sure that his bad leg was cushioned and would not give him any trouble.

The fire’s warmth made Dwalin relax a little but his shoulders were still tense as Dís fingers brushed over all new scars and the bandages he still had to wear.

"I am sorry" he said.

There was a sound that might have been a sob or a laugh has Dís wrapped her arms around Dwalin’s torso.

"You are still alive. There is nothing more you could have done."

They watched the flames for a while before Dwalin reached into his pocket and pulled out the bead that had survived the journey undamaged.  
Dís frowned at it as Dwalin put it into her hand. 

“You should take it back.”

"You can’t return it out of guilt! Or don’t you love me?"

"I love you more than I have ever loved anything else, my Princess, but do you really think we should do this?"

"After all this, don’t you think we deserve a little happiness? I love you, I want to marry you as soon as Erebor is restored again."

Dwalin sighed and started searching his pocket again. After a while he pulled out another bead out, nearly identical to the one he had carried with him for the last year.

"What’s this then?" Dís took it and examined it curiously. It was old and covered in dust and ash that would take a long time to be washed off.

"The bead your father made so long ago. It’s the one you gave me when we were children. Do you remember? I always carried it with me, or kept it in a box in my room when I though I might lose it. It was still there."

Dís stared at him wordlessly, so Dwalin pointed at his injured arm.

"I would give you a braid, but this time it is me who can’t move the arm. You will have to wait until then-"

Dís laughed then, a surprised little giggle and it warmed Dwalin’s heart to know that she still could do that after all life had done to her.

"Then, I am afraid I cannot give you a matching braid either, not until you do it first."

She leaned in to kiss him, and it felt even sweeter than he remembered it to be  
.  
"I can wait" Dwalin replied with a smile and pulled her to his side with his good arm.

She curled into him, with her head on his shoulder, they didn’t move or say a word, just watched the flames until the end of the night.

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally a drabble-prompt on tumblr, but I liked the idea so much that I wrote it all anyway.
> 
> this has not been beta-ed so all mistakes are mine 
> 
> I also promise that my other stories will be continued soon


End file.
